Designed to draw domestic and international tourists to the pristine, sun-drenched beaches of southern Vietnam, the Grand Ho Tram Strip is quickly becoming one of SE Asia’s top leisure getaways. With a focus on providing a personalized blend of excitement and relaxation, the Ho Tram Strip features something for everyone -- from lavish entertainment to premium shopping and exceptional recreational facilities.
Set on more than 400 acres of land along a 2.2 kilometer beach and surrounded by protected forest, the highly talked about integrated resort is conveniently located just two hours away from Vietnam's largest metropolis, Ho Chi Minh City.
The resort targets tourists from around Asia, with an emphasis on mainland China, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and Korea. Tourist from the PRC make up the largest groipu of inbound visitors to the property. The Grand also markets to Viet Kieu (foreigners of Vietnamese origin) from all over the world, as well as the local resident expatriate community. The Grand’s non-gaming targets includes local Vietnamese, typically seeking a truly unique F&B, leisure and golf experience.
The first phase of the Ho Tram Strip - The Grand Ho Tram Strip - opened its doors in Feb 2013, and includes 541 five star rooms, gaming, meeting and convention space, ten bars and restaurants, a spa, teen’s and children’s areas, three swimming pools and luxury retail shops.
The second phase is well underway, and will include another 559 rooms and feature additional F&B, shopping and leisure activities. Ho Tram Strip will include at least one more integrated resort with with world class amenities.
Current gaming facilities offer more than 600 slot machines, 90 table games and multiple VIP table rooms for the finest in full-service gambling. Open 24 hours a day throughout the week, the gaming features include:
● Table games: 90 table games including VIP Baccarat, Baccarat, VIP Roulette, Roulette, Sic Bo, Blackjack, Ho Tram Stud Poker Progressive, Ho Tram Hold’em Poker Progressive and VIP Texas Hold’em. Baccarat is the casino’s top table game.
● Slots: 614 slot machine positions (including 118 electronic table games which consists of Roulette, Baccarat, Sic Bo and Craps; 32 machines in VIP-high limit area, 8 machines in private gaming rooms)

The casino offers a selection of multiplayer machines, including:

Lucky Big Wheel - Aruze 15
Lucky Sic Bo - Aruze 8
Craps - Aruze 8
Interblock G3 Roulette 64
Interblock G4 Roulette & Baccarat 38

The slots that are doing the best at the casino:

Slots is Aristocrat
ETG is Interblock Roulette machines.

The resort provides both Poker and Slot Tournaments. For slot tournaments, every participant buys in for USD$50 and plays for 5 minutes. When the 5 minutes are over, each player has one last chance to have one more spin. This starts with the player having the lowest credit first. Should they have a win, they can further “gamble” their win up to 5 more times. The winner will be determined by the highest amount of credit remaining at the end of the session. Currently there are 6 heats with the top 2 placing going into the Final round to determine the winner.

Along with casino gaming, the resort offers an array of world-class leisure activities. In recent weeks (October 2014), the Ho Tram Strip delivered further on its vision to develop a truly unique destination resort in Asia with the opening of The Bluffs – a championship golf course developed by golfing icon Greg Norman.

With Greg Norman on hand to cut the ribbon on a course he has called one of the two most beautiful that he has ever been involved in, Harbinger Capital Principal and Ho Tram Strip investor Philip Falcone further took the opportunity to announce that the Ho Tram Project Company would be developing both condominiums and villas which would be available to both international and domestic investors.

Open for preview play since early in 2014, the course has already been nominated for three Asia Pacific Golf Awards, including Best New Golf Course in Asia Pacific, Best Golf Course in Vietnam and Best Golf Course Superintendent (Ali Macfadyen).

“To be recognized in such fashion without even being officially open speaks volumes to this course and the job everyone here has done,” said Ben Styles, General Manager of The Bluffs Ho Tram Strip. “We can’t wait for the world to come and enjoy what I firmly believe is as good as any golf experience that exists.”

Adding to The Grand’s allure is the opportunity to escape into the resort’s signature spa. This beautifully designed sanctuary provides a constant cycle of anticipation while unveiling surprise and delight. Ancient healing traditions of the world’s richest cultures combine with modern sensory immersion technology to help restore balance and inspire a sense of rejuvenation, connection, and well being.

For a bold new evolutionary nightlife experience, Club 9 offers an unforgettable place to party. Embodying the mysticism, power and seduction of the dragon; the fashionable nightclub allows guests to indulge in their specialty cocktails as well as a unique bottle service presented by their gorgeous team of Natural 9’s.

In recent months, Asian Coast Development (Canada) Ltd., the owner of The Grand Ho Tram Strip, announced two new investments in the property in 2014. The first in July, was an investment of US$20 million by NewCity Capital, an entity established by American investor Mr. Chien Lee.

“The Ho Tram Strip is one of the most exciting tourism developments in Asia Pacific,” said Mr. Lee. “This project provides NewCity with the opportunity to participate in the first major integrated resort project in Vietnam. I expect Vietnam to be one of the fastest growing tourism markets in the region and the Ho Tram Strip development has a first mover advantage in the large scale integrated resort market.”
In September, the Asian Coast Development announced a US$50 million funding commitment from its majority shareholder, Harbinger Capital. Harbinger is the majority owner of Asian Coast Development Ltd along with minority owners Pinnacle Entertainment and NewCity Capital.

"We remain as excited about the Ho Tram Project today as we were when we made our initial investment in 2007," said Harbinger Capital Principal, Mr. Philip Falcone. "The Grand Ho Tram Strip resort and casino facilities and The Bluffs golf course designed by Greg Norman Golf Course Design have both received rave reviews. We are also extremely excited about the future development potential of our project. We are encouraged by the Vietnamese government’s progress on establishing a robust regulatory framework that will also provide a road map for the establishment of locals gaming in Vietnam.”

Asian Coast Development Ltd.'s Board of Directors have recently announced the appointment of Mr. Stephen Shoemaker as Chairman of the company's Board of Directors as well as its President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Shoemaker had previously served as ACDL's President and Chief Financial Officer since 2008. With over 30 years of financial and operating experience in the hospitality and telecommunications industry, Shoemaker’s extensive background will be used in developing strategy, overseeing financial operations and fund raising activities.

Vietnam’s gaming scene is one to monitor closely, as the government prepares for a decree that could give the local Vietnamese an opportunity to enter the gaming floor. The Grand Ho Tram Strip is ideally positioned to welcome this traffic.

Bill has been working in the global leisure and gaming technology industry for more than thirty years. Based in Bali for the past ten years, he frequently writes and consults on gaming, golf, club and spa management.